


In Every Universe

by YourGirlThursday



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 1x13, 1x13 spoilers, F/M, Post Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 17:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10926213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourGirlThursday/pseuds/YourGirlThursday
Summary: For every Betty Cooper in each timeline that existed there was one constant: her love for Jughead Jones.





	In Every Universe

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of post-finale feelings and Jughead mentioned the multiverse. This is what came out of that. Unbetaed and written on little sleep so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Previously posted on Tumblr.

There were other versions of Betty Cooper running around the multiverse at that moment. There was the Betty Cooper who was still perched on the counter, reveling in the feel of Jughead against her. There was the Betty Cooper crying in her bed, wishing Toledo weren’t so distant.There was the Betty Cooper who was recovering from her fall through the cracked ice at Sweetwater River. **  
**

For every Betty Cooper in each timeline that existed there was one constant: her love for Jughead Jones. This Betty Cooper had time and again shown him that in both words and deeds.

But it looked like it might not be enough.

That was what made it so hard to watch him with the Serpents. There was no denying how at peace Jughead looked. For once he was  accepted wholly by a group of people. The looks from the teachers, the other students, and the parents of his friends had taken a toll on Jughead. Here was this group of strangers proclaiming that they would back him up because of - not despite - his father. He needed this kind of validation.

The whole interaction reminded Betty of her trip to South Side High. When Jughead had called her he sounded so forlorn. She thought he would be as lost as she felt without him. She thought wrong. On his first day Jughead had already made friends. He seemed so at ease at South Side. Betty felt him slip away a little in that moment. It wasn’t like at his birthday party or the winter formal, when he was pushing her away. Then he was full of pain and doubt. Now it was joy and a sense of belonging that led him farther from her. 

Her heart ached at the distance she felt gaping between them. Jughead had never felt closer than when they were in the living room. He had never felt farther than he did as he slung on the jacket. What a difference a few minutes made.

The chill coursing through Betty’s veins had nothing to do with the wind and the rain. Her eyes fixed on the jacket in her boyfriend’s hand, a hand that mere heartbeats ago had been memorizing every inch of her skin. Betty pulled her own coat in closer, wishing she had more than just her bra on underneath. Her state of dress had made her feel defiant when she thought her mother was on the other side of the door. Now it made her feel silly and vulnerable.

Her mouth opened before she realized it. His name fell from her lips, a plea and an admonishment wrapped up in one word. Betty had never seen her boyfriend so stricken than in the moment. He looked down at his leather clad arms. His thumb and forefinger rubbed at the cuff of his sleeve.

“Thank you. For this.” Jughead pulled at his lapels. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

The reply from the Serpents wasn’t loud enough for Betty to hear. It seemed friendly enough. Jughead entered the doorway, still wearing the jacket. He shut the door behind him, using it to hold himself up. His eyes met Betty’s. Every time she identified an emotion it shifted into another.

Guilt. Hope. Sadness. Anger.

Jughead continued to hold her gaze, eyes still swimming with emotion. “Whether I join or not, I will _never_ let them come between us,” he promised. “I love you.”

Betty walked straight into Jughead’s arms. Her head burrowed into the hollow of his neck. She pressed a light kiss where his jacket met his skin. Her hands slid up Jughead’s side, resting on his shoulders. His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her close. They settled into each other in silence.

“It’s your call.” Her whisper was barely audible over his heartbeat. “I’ll be here no matter what you choose.”

Betty felt rather than heard Jughead’s sigh of relief. One of his hands cupped the back of her neck; the other curled around her waist. No air, no secrets lay between them in that moment. 

In another timeline there was the Betty Cooper who tried to lighten the mood by singing “You’re the One that I Want” from _Grease_. There was the Betty Cooper who dropped her coat and dragged her boyfriend back to their unfinished business in the kitchen. There was the Betty Cooper who asked if she could wear the jacket next time they visited F.P. Though every Betty Cooper made different choices, their paths all came down to one thing.

They wouldn’t give up on the boy they loved.  


End file.
